Through a Kickstarter campaign, Dorian Warneck puts his father’s past life to life in the film The Color of Fire — his story as a soldier under Hitler’s rule during the last times of World War Two.
Dorian and his brother grew up labeled as a “Nazi” by other kids because of his father’s thick German accent. To a growing child, the labelw as both hurtful and confusing. Through the years though, he came to know a story these other kids never knew — that his father, Diether Warneck, had served Hitler and was indeed a Nazi soldier during the last days of the Second World War.
Diether was born in Germany in 1929. His father , Dorian’s grandfather, was an official member of the Nazi party.
Being a fifteen-year-old Nazi soldier, Dorian described his father as “having experienced some crazy things that would haunt him for the rest of his life”. And as Diether is already advancing in years [he’s in his mid-80s] and is suffering from a failing health, Dorian has made it his mission to share his story to the rest of the world through the documentary film The Color of Fire.
“I feel the need to document these things while I still have a chance,” he pointed out.
Just last year, the filmmaker accompanied his father upon his return to Germany. There, both revisited a number of places that played significant roles in Diether’s life.
The Color of Fire centers on the life of Diether Warneck specifically during the time he spent as a young soldier under the rule of the notorious German dictator during WWII, Adolf Hitler.
When Dresden, his hometown, got destroyed, Diether took the opportunity to enlist in the German army. The Color of Fire tackles how Diether handles his memories during that time, the guilt that he always feels but hides beneath his seemingly normal and happy family life living in the United States.
The Color of Fire is on its last stages — just the finishing touches and post-production. Dorian plans to show the personal documentary in film festivals this summer. He adds that he also plans on releasing The Color of Fire based on its success in these film festivals.